Narratives aren't only for literary bookshelves, and a justification narrative is a type of persuasive writing that's mostly found in commerce and government. Justification narratives are most often included in budget proposals and grants, but they can also be used to appeal or petition for legislative or policy changes. Learning the key components of a justification narrative can help you to write a stronger proposal and increase the likelihood of persuading your readers. Proper research is essential to building your case.

State Your Claim

A strong justification narrative begins with a brief statement of your claim, which will be the focus of your piece. Your claim should state what change you think should be enacted, what budget requests you have, or what policy you would like to implement. You don't need to go into the specifics of your argument; you just need to make a strong and clear persuasive statement or request. For example, you could write a justification narrative for your workplace with the claim, "Employees need to have one or more vending machines in the break room." Keep the claim to a simple statement.

Establish Reasons

Once you state your claim, begin providing the reasoning. For example, if you requested a vending machine for your workplace, provide details about why that's important, such as providing employees with more snack and drink options. You might say that access to the right snacks can help improve productivity. It is important to frame your argument with your audience in mind. Therefore, in this example, you shouldn't just talk about why the employees would like the new vending machine; you should say why it will help the company, such as improving its bottom line through increased worker output.

A300 mobile placeholder

Provide Support

You can make any argument you like to strengthen your proposal, but if you don't have support for your arguments, your reader will not be convinced that what you say is true. You must provide whatever support you can in the form of statistics, studies and expert opinions. For example, if you are pushing for the new vending machine, you should include studies that show how hunger can impair productivity. If possible, find case studies of companies that provided perks like snacks, cafeterias or vending machines and experienced positive outcomes. The more support you provide, the stronger your justification narrative is.

Discuss Budgetary Issues

Whether you are writing a budget justification narrative or another kind of justification narrative, budgetary issues will often be an important part of the discussion. Include pertinent information about the budget, including what resources will be needed to support your proposal and what impact it will have, such as what revenue it could generate or what other costs it could save. For your vending machine proposal, you could include the cost of the machine versus the revenue it will generate from purchases and the increased profits from projected productivity. Line-item budgetary information should be included where relevant to strengthen your proposal.

References

About the Author

Maria Magher has been working as a professional writer since 2001. She has worked as an ESL teacher, a freshman composition teacher and an education reporter, writing for regional newspapers and online publications. She has written about parenting for Pampers and other websites. She has a Master's degree in English and creative writing.